Air conditioning system



Nov. 11, 1952 w. M.'S|MP$ON 2,617,632

' AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM Original Filed April 9, 1.94s 2 smas'rs su nm1\ INVENTOR ATTORNEY Nov. 11, 1952 -w. M. SIMPSON 7,

' AIR counmcmus SYSTEM Original Filed April 9. 1946 v 2 SHEETS-a-SHEET 2wax/ma ran 1? con m SWIM (9w 7 a) 5017/1 51? I emu-R043 5 Z iazay iINVENTOR. Wan/72.

vided throughout their length with heat'exchange For the sake ofclearness" the fins have;-

fins 21. been omitted from the riser tubes in Fig. 1. The generator isheated by a gas fired hot air furnace designated generally by referencecharacter 22.

This furnace may be of any suitable type but it is preferred that thefurnace be made up of a plurality of sections arranged so that theprodnets of combustion from'the gas burners 23, only one of which isshown, pass upward through the inside of the sections and air to beheated passes downward over the outside of the sections. The

supply of fuel gas to the burners 23-may ,be controlled .in' anysuitable manner as by aLsolenOid -operated valve 13. Suitable baffles orheat transfer fins, not shown, may be applied totheouter surface of thefurnace sections'so as to increase the'heat transfer surface thereof.Products'of combustion from the furnace are conveyed from {the outlet24to a suitablefiue, not shown.

:1; shown in Fig. l, the hot air furnace is located a housing or duct25, which housing [is 7 connected to the generator housing [4 by a lower.duct 26 and an upper duct 2.1. A blower 28 opaerated. byan electricmotor 29 is located. in' the lower portion of housing 25. Whenenergized,

(blower '28 circulates air through a closed circuit comprising housingv25, lower duct 26, generator .:housing 14 and upper duct 21 back tohousing 25. Housing is also connectedat its lowerend by a'duct"3ll toa-duct 3|, which last-named duct in- :cludestwo vertical passageways 31aand. 3H). A

i'blower 32 operated by an electric motor 33 is 10- cated'in the lowerportion of duct 3|. Flow of air through the ducts 26 and is controlledby a damper=34r Housing 25 .is connected at its up- ;per end by a duct35 with the=room or other enjclosure- .36 thatis'to be conditioned. Duct35 is inopen'communication with theupper or inlet portion of passageway31a, :in which inlet the ;,evaporator:: l2 is located. A pair'of dampers31 .and 38 controls theiflow. of air from the duct 35 :to the-furnacehousing 25 and to the air passageway* cm, respectively; :Dampers 34-,flu-and. 38

are interconnected in such manner, not shown, ;th at'when'damp.er: 3T isclosed, damperi38 is open :an'ddampe'r 3'4".isin-thefu1l line positionshown zimFig'; 1. When the position of dampers 31 and :38 is reversed,damper 34 is moved to thebroken line position shown in Fig. 1. A pair ofair filters -39is. arranged in the path of flow ofair induct 35.-'During' the cooling cycles of operation the cond'ensert'll and theabsorber l3 constitute heat rejecting-elements of the refrigeratingapparatus ducted to the absorber whereby. heat, resulting fromabsorption of refrigerant vapor by'the liquid absorbent medium, is givenup to the'cooling water. The cooling water isthen conducted from theabsorber to the condenser inwhichheat of tenements; resulting fromcondensation of 4 refrigerant vapor in the condenser, is given up to thecooling water. The water flows from the condenser to the spray coolingtower wherein it is sprayed into an upwardly flowing stream of air whichis forced through the cooling tower by a suitable electrically drivenfan. The water, which is cooled by partial evaporation into the upwardlyflowing air stream, collects in the bottom of the tower and is conductedfrom there to the absorber by a suitable electrically driven pump. Onlythe electric motors for driving the cooling tower fan and pump areschematically 5 shown at 99 and llll, respectively, in Fig. 3. However,for a complete showing and description of a cooling tower along with theaccessories and controls therefor that is suitable for use with I therefrigerating apparatus described in this application reference may behad, if desired, to the United States patent to Sven W. E. Andersson No.2,381,427, granted August 7, 1945. This Anderssonpatent is to beconsidered as incor- "porated in this application.

I in the enclosure 35, dampers 34, 31 and 38 are eachmov'ed to theirfull line positions shown in Fig. 1. Assuming that thegas burners 23 andblowers 28 and 32 are energized, blower 28 draws air downward throughthe housing 25 and over the outer surface of the furnace 22 whereby theair is heated. The heated air is then forced through lower duct 26,upward through the housmg l4 and over the riser tubes l5 wherein the airgives up its heat to the refrigerant-absorbent ,causes water vapor to beexpelled from the refrigerant-absorbent solution contained therein whichvapor passes to the condenser wherein it is liquefied and the condensateflows from there into the evaporator [2. The blower 32 being energized,air is drawn from the enclosure 36, throughJduct 35, through filters 39,over the coils of the evaporator, downward through air passageway 3 la,through blower 32, upward through passageway 31b and back to theenclosure. The air in-passing over the coils of the evaporator gives upits heat to the refrigerant contained therein causing the refrigerant tovaporize. The vaporized refrigerant passes from the evaporator -to'theabsorber wherein the vapor is absorbed into the absorption solutioncontained therein, and the enriched solution is conveyed from theabsorber back to the riser tubes of the generator. The circulation ofair is continued through this last described circuit so long as the airin the enclosure 36 calls for cooling.-

Assuming now that it is desired to heat the air in enclosure 36, dampers34, 31, 38 are shifted from their full line positions to their brokenline ,positions shown in Fig. 1. Gas burners 23and blower 32 areenergized but blower 28 stands dormant; With this arrangement, blower 32draws 'airfrom enclosure 35, through duct 35, through filters 39, intohousing 25, downward over the surface of hot air furnace 22, throughduct 30, blower 32 and upward'through passageway'3ll2 back to enclosure36. Circulation of air through this last-named circuit is continued solong as the air inenclosure 36 requires heat. The controls sali nt d1 on;o raiionefthe aire ni i i .na yetem. each oberatesa different safetycutcut sw ch smeratee t Ce t is A, no

i i ,i i be11 idtberinostaa hi h a ee most bee jo t t i eutoofiat em- Qin. a i x suited to thet nnei en orwh h .o t is ie eeded- L iqontro s .Ct nd, .E ie'realso f api inetyp but t eset s o eo 1 hem staticalypneratedtobo b oneni iwh q th yioperat'e .Controt Q? operat s. a switchwbiehfintprn vcontrols .ne ie ei atien of ..1o ower,motor ,Coetrm .E

ntractebile diaph a m 1,43, a capillary tube .44.

nthermalzzhmb :45. Altmama y actuat d o v b in 56 s era ve y'co e dtofthe to gle: tee sh w E Irbul l c e in me nguct zlingthe pathoijflowof air flowing iron} the generator housing" L4 to theheaterhousing'Z5."T irhearran ement is such that if the air 00esingthroughthesductzl reaches a predeterned highjtemperlature the fluidin the bulb 45 g I ted to t such an extent that :the diaphragm eggpandedand through togglefltsnaps switch ai s in open position untiliiti isstated ab ve. i is iden ic l wi i nti'l hatthe,thellmalflbulbof the r atQifihis eontrol is ch di ierin yr. oithe herma bulb or control a 0 .e evto are off the jelectri p e burner inithe ,iaizvuiailsioto l6 ,I using25. throughth d Iver the riser tubes 'in'the genera r "26, u war A vhousing [4 and'back through 'di1ct21 to the he r housing Shouldbiow'er'jza ran to operate he an in the heater housingwill reach anabnohigh t n or e and the ,fl u'id' in th he? bu1p 45b;jw i' hituib islocated inthe pa hjoi of airllbet'ween the eections'lofi th 'iheat'erifould reach a s 'ui'lici'ently high tein perature' to clalise'ltheswitch, not shown, of this comma snap'to p ee itie et e same e e-re erib Bore re a e ng; itchtZ orcontr rzif hefs f contrql' 13,1 as that ofcbh trql mus manua l re in de elqsei he e e i t thei qlee e, ral efine hn l i .beerafioMh time .32 i int nded o to through the e rrci eui wh h il es Joe .he e ne. firp edu t wiblower' 3 a sa wa -31b. encleei r 3. duc3. a t b k the h et rh ei e firian ea o b ow rifllfa e o om be a ntend hflui in lb 45b .wi as; b .becemehwfid t suc a temper t r that switch o en r ll besnerp t o eninoeition. I

' Duri heati cyc es. of o eratio o theatream contro C operates tf d ay tne e zat'on o blower 32 n til.thetemperature o he in the heater housinhas .reachede pr e r. en h Control c' clud iaeasine 0, a acting.toeelefi o to' hi h is con e ted a. switch -0, "an expansiblee ontracable di phra m I 4 9 a capillary tube 440 and a thermal bulb 45g. ,Thetoggle is noved to the left, as viewedin Fi byt eexpa sion of d aphra m430. to close switch 420 and to the ri ht y th o qn raotion .o il bediaphra m vto p nithe switch. he .swi h i biased {toward op n posi on ya sprin i241- Th rmalbulb. 4. .0 is located in the path, offlow of airinheater housing .25 in m h he same manner as' bulb b of Control B;Inthebperfltion of control C when'it is desired to heat? the 'enclosureftfi, the enclosure thermostat I35}, to be described presently, closes aswitch 69 (Fig.3) which'enere'izes e solenoid .valvev13 ,tosu p'ly gastoithe burner 23. When the air intheheater hou in reachesaipredetermine'd' temperature. diaphragniinc expands and snaps .switch42oto closed position thereby closing the circuitto the electricmotori33'of blower32. Thiscircu'itremains closed so long as theenclosure 36 requires heat. 'When the enclosure reaches the desiredtemperature the enclosure thermostat" opens switch 59,?deenergizi1ig'the solenoid'of the gas valve with the result that the supply of-gas totheburner "is'reduced and the temperature in housing 25 falls causingdiaphragm no to snap switch 42'cto its open position. i

It is to vbe noted that the charge in each v 0 the thermal bulbs 45',45b and 450 is either directlybrv'indirectly influenced by thetemr'ierature of the air in the heater housing 25,- and since undernormal operating conditions T the tem rature in t s us n will be. vhiher d ring; co l n yc o eratio n r neheat-.

diaphragm of control'D is connected by a capillary'tube 44d to a thermalbulb 4501, which bulb is located, as shown in Fig. 1, on the evaporatorl2. Control E is a delayed action and on and off control which operatesa switch to close an electric circuit which, in turn, energizes acooling tower pump and fan in accordance with the temperature of thegenerator of the refrigerating apparatus. That is, when generator I isheated and refrigerant vapor passes from the generator to the condenser,the cooling tower pump and fan should be energized. Conversely, when thegenerator is not being heated or when refrigerant yapor is not beingexpelled from the solution in *the generator there is no need foroperatingthev cooling tower pump or fan. Control E is similar to controlC in that they are both on and off controls. Control E includes a casing40c which contains a toggle switch and an expansible-contractablediaphragm, not shown, but which are' similar to the toggle switch anddiaphragm of control C. The diaphragm of control E is connected by acapillary tube Me to a thermal bulb 45c. As shown in Fig. 1, bul-b 45ais in thermal contact with separating vessel l! of the generator l0.

Referring now to Fig. 3 of the drawing, when 'it is desired to operatethe air conditioning system described above, a main switch 68 ismanuallyclosed so that the primary winding 6| of a transformer 62 isconnected to a suitable alter- 63. This thermostatic switch, which iscontained in a room thermostat diagrammatically illustrated at 36, Figs.1 and 3, may be of any suit- "able type. However, it is preferred to usea thermostatic switch which opens and closes the "low voltage circuit inaccordance with the temfperature of the enclosure that is beingconditioned during both heating and cooling cycles of operation. Asuitable thermostatic switch which operates on both the heating andcooling cycles is shown and described in the above Andersson Patent No.2,381,427, and, if desired, reference maybe had to this patent for adetailed description of this switch. Thermostatic switch 69 is connectedby a conductor 10 to a manual switch H. Switch H is of the triplei'pole, double-throw type, as illustrated in Fig. 3. During the heatingcycles of operation, that is, when switch H has been moved to the leftfrom the neutral position shown in Fig.3, the switch lever having beenmoved to the right to the position marked H, a conductor 72, whichcontains 'the switches of safety cut-out controls D, Band A,connects theleft side of switch H to one side --of the solenoid'operated valve I3for controlling The the supply of gas to the burner 23. The opposite isconnected to the low voltage winding of the transformer by a conductor88.

To initiate a cooling cycle of operation, switch H is moved to the rightfrom the neutral position shown in Fig. 3, the switch lever being moved"to the C'positi-on. With switch H in this lastnamecl position aconductor 8| connects this switch with conductor 12; a conductor 82connects switch H with conductor 18; and a conductor 83 connects switchH to one terminal of a relay 84, the opposite terminal of which relayisconnected by a conductor 85 to conductor 80. As shown in Fig. 3,cooling tower control switch E is connected on one side by a conductor86 to conductor 83 and on its opposite side by a conductor 81 to onesideof a relay 88, the opposite side of which relay is connected by'aconductor 89 to conductor 80.

Referring'again to Fig. 3, a conductor 90 containing a switch 9!operated by relay 19 connects one side of blower motor 33 tohighvoltag-e conductor 65, the opposite side of which motor is connecteddirectly to conductor 6-4 of the high voltage circuit. Conductor 90 isconnected by a conductor 92, a switch'93 operated by relay 84 and aconductor 94 to one side of the blower motor 29, the opposite side ofwhich 'motor is connected to conductor 64 by a conductor 95. A conductor96, a switch 91 operated by relay "88 and a conductor 98 connect oneside of cooling tower fan motor 9 9 to high voltage conductor 65, andthe opposite side of the fan motor is connected by a conductor I00 toconductor 64 of the high voltage circuit. As shown, a cooling tower pumpmotor 10! is connected in parallel with fan motor 99 by conductors I02and I03.

Assuming now thatthe enclosure 36 is calling for heat, thermostaticswitch 69 is closed by the room thermostat and manual switch H has beenshifted to the H position thereby energizing the solenoid valve 13 tosupply gas to the burner 23. When the hot air furnace is brought up to apredetermined temperature, control switch C closes and energizes relay19 which in turn closes switch 9| and energizes blower 33. When theenclosure reaches the desired temperature, thermostatic switch 69 opensthe' low'voltage circuit deenergizing the solenoid valve and the relay[9.

Assume now that the enclosure is calling for cooling, that switch H hasbeen shifted to the C position and that thermostatic switch 59 has beenclosed by the room thermostat, solenoid valve'13 is energized causinggas to be supplied to the burner.YAl-so relays l9 and 84 are energizedwhereby switches 9| and 93 are closed and blower motors 33 and 29 areenergized. Blower -28' circulates hot air from the furnace over therefrigerant generator causing refrigerant vapor to beexpelled from thesolution contained therein. When refrigerant vapor reaches theseparatingvessel I! control E operates to close the cooling towercontrol switch whereby the relay 88 is energized. The energizationofrelay -88 closes 7 switch 91 whereby the 'fan and pump motors of thecooling tower are energized. So long as the ing system and air iscirculated through the second circuit to cool the enclosure, and when itis desired to heat the enclosurethe dampers are moved to other positionswhereby parts of the first and second circuits are combined to form thethird circuit and air is circulated through this third circuit to heatthe enclosure.

'6. An air conditioning system having heating and cooling cycles ofoperation and comprising a gas fired hot air furnace, means for supplyingas to said furnace, means responsive to the temperature of an enclosurebeing conditioned for controlling the supply of gas to the furnace,

a heat operated- -refrigerating apparatus including a generator, acondenser, an evaporator and i an absorber, a first closed air circuitincluding means responsive to an abnormal low temperature of theevaporator for cutting off the supply of gas to the furnace, a coolingsystem for cooling the absorber and condenser of the refrigertheenclosure the dampers are moved to certain positions whereby the firstand second air circuits are separate and independent, air is circulatedthrough the first circuit to operate the refrigerating system and air iscirculated through the second circuit to cool the enclosure, and when itis desired to heat the enclosure the dampers are moved to otherpositions whereby parts 'of the first and second circuits are combinedto form the third circuit and air is circulated through this thirdcircuit to heat the enclosure.

,7. An air conditioning system comprising a first closed air circuitincluding a source of heat, a refrigerant generator and air ductsconnecting said elements to form the closed circuit, a second closed aircircuit including that part of the first circuit that contains thesource of heat. an enclosure to be conditioned and air ducts leadingfrom and to the enclosure and cooperatingtherewith to form the secondcircuit, and mechanism for shifting the fiow from one to the other ofsaid circuits.

8. A system for conditioning air including an enclosure to beconditioned, air ducts forming at least two closed circuits for flow ofair therethrough, a heater in said air ducts, a refrigerant generator insaid air ducts, said air ducts being connected to the enclosure for flowof air ating apparatus, means responsive to the temperature of thegenerator for controlling the op' 1 eration of said cooling system, athird closed air circuit including the enclosure, the hot air furnace,the second blower and parts of the air duct systemcr the second closedcircuit which lead from and'to the enclosure, means responsive to thetemperature of the hot air furnace for cutting off the supply of gas tothe furnace and for controlling the operation of the second blowerduring-heating cycles of operation, a plurality of dampers forcontrolling the circulation of air through the different air circuits,said dampers and said air circuits being so constructed and arrangedthat when it is desired to cool from and to the enclosure, and controlmechanism in the air ducts operable in one position to cause air to flowin one closed circuit between the heater and the enclosure and in asecond position to cause air to flow in a second closed circuit betweenthe heater and the refrigerant generator.

WALTER M. SIMPSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,981,952 Foss Nov. 27, 19342,216,075 Henderson Sept. 24, 1940 2,381,427 Andersson Aug. 7, 1945

